recipe is : coconut cupcakes with cream cheese topping

Ingredients
coconut cupcake

1 cup (230g/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 small/med eggs
2 1/2 cups grated fresh coconut, lightly toast 1 cup till light golden brown (set aside 2 tbsp toasted coconut for the topping)
2 1/2 cups superfine/cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup hot water

Topping

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 pound cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
grated zest of 1 lemon
grated zest of 2 limes
2 tbsp of the lightly toasted coconut


Method
cake

- preheat the oven to 190 degrees C
- sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. set aside
- cream together butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy
- beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one
- add the grated coconut (toasted and untoasted), mix to incorporate
- mix ½ of the flour into the butter mixture, then add ½ the water, mix well
- add in the remaining flour and water and mix
- spoon the batter into paper cake cups 3/4 way to the top
- bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean
- set aside to cool for at least 30 mins


Topping

- beat butter until creamy. add cream cheese and beat till incorporated and creamy
- add in the sugar, beat till it's smooth and no longer grainy
- add lemon juice, lemon zest and lime zest into the cream cheese and mix to combine
- spread or pipe the icing on to the cupcake and sprinkle with the toasted coconut
- coloured sugar or cake sprinkles can be used to pretty up the cupcakes




~~ culinary adventures ~~

recipe is : carrot pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup (230g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing cake pan
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 small/med eggs
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
2 1/2 cups superfine/cake flour, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting cake pan
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup hot water
1 cup finely chopped pineapple, canned will do nicely. just squeeze out as much of the syrup as possible, before and after chopping

Frosting

1/2 cup whipping cream, cold
1 cup (about 250g) cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup caster sugar (reduce to 1/2 cup for a less sweet icing)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
grated zest of 1 lemon


Method

- preheat the oven to 190 degrees C
- sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. set aside
- grease and dust with flour 2 pieces of 8 inch cake pans, springform works best
- cream together butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy
- beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one
- add the grated carrot, mix to incorporate
- mix ½ of the flour into the butter mixture, then add ½ the water, mix well
- add in the remaining flour and water and mix
- add the pineapple
- pour the batter evenly into the 2 cake pans
- bake for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean
- cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove from the pan and cool completely. slice the cakes into 2 layers each


Frosting

- whip cream until firm. beat cream cheese in another bowl until soft and creamy
- add in the sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest into the cream cheese and mix to combine
- fold in the whipped cream until just combined
- spread the icing in between the cake layers and stack them up
- thinly ice the top and sides of the cake to finish
- refrigerate and serve chilled

recipe is : chocolate brownies

i got this recipe from chef michael smith of the 'chef at home' show. i tweaked a wee bit here and there to suit my own preference
Ingredients

700g/25oz cooking chocolate
200g/0.75 cup butter
200g/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 small/med eggs
250g/1.25 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Method

- preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water
- whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder
- when the chocolate and butter have melted whisk them smooth
- add the eggs, sugar and vanilla to the chocolate and mix thoroughly
- add the flour mixture
- pour into a lightly greased and floured 9x13-inch pan
- bake for 45 minutes